My father was in the service. His job was to integrate the Armed Forces overseas. So that meant we showed up at military bases in Okinawa or Germany, racially unannounced. That made me, in that particular society if you will, the outsider.
My father was in the military; he was a captain. His service was to quote-unquote integrate the Armed Forces overseas.
I have visited classrooms near military bases to learn more about what schools were doing to support their military kids. I met with teachers overseas to learn about the particular needs they face thousands of miles from America. And I listened to my own granddaughter, who dealt with her father's yearlong deployment to Iraq.
We stand for the dismantling of foreign military bases. We stand for a reduction of armed forces and armaments in areas where military confrontation is especially dangerous, above all in central Europe.
On Veterans Day, the country honors those in uniform and the sacrifices they have made across the globe. But as a military spouse who reports on the issues facing military families, I've learned that one of the biggest challenges is when a service member transitions out of the armed forces and into the civilian workforce.
Many U.S. military bases are located in northern Okinawa and a number of drills are conducted there. We'll work with the U.S. military to ensure that effects on local communities are kept to the minimum.
I got off a plane today at the airbase and I met a whole bunch of military folks there waiting to see me, they all made reference to my son and his military service and expressed their condolences. And although it's still kind of an open wound, it gave me a sense of strength knowing they all meant it.
My Army reserve service was in the 1990s. It was, more than anything else, an opportunity for me to express gratitude. My understanding of and admiration for the American armed forces is deeper, better informed as a result. I'm among those who believe that military or other citizen service should be an expected part of every American's life.
Let us also reflect on the honorable service of our men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces currently serving our country overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, and around the world.
With the all-volunteer military, we, as a society, have become disconnected from our armed forces. And our military, like almost everything else in our country, has been outsourced.
My father was in the military, so I was in Okinawa.
I was brought up in a very naval, military, and conservative background. My father and his friends had very typical opinions of the British middle class - lower-middle class actually - after the war. My father broke into the middle class by joining the navy. I was the first member of my family ever to go to private school or even to university. So, the armed forces had been upward mobility for him.
A break-up of the U.K. would affect the deployment and strength of its armed forces and play havoc with the ownership of its overseas consulships and embassies.
I intend to travel to Okinawa and to visit with Okinawa officials and the citizens of Okinawa at an early date. I will send my best analysis of that situation, including the local attitudes, back to Washington, to the government there.
Every member of the U.S. Armed Forces knows what they signed up for, and they know what their job is, and they are proud of their job.
I worked with the Nato Military Committee. The Head of the Luxembourg Armed Forces had equal standing with me, and I had to respect that. He was the leader of the armed forces of a sovereign country. I had to make sure he never thought that I was looking down on them, merely because they had less power than we did. With that kind of approach you can develop bonds of trust. I tried to do the same thing with my colleagues when I was Secretary of State.
The American Legion has been a cornerstone of American life from the local to the federal level since the beginning, and serves as a constant reminder of the enormous contributions America's armed service members have made to enrich our nation during and after their military service.